An agricultural harvester known as a “combine” is historically termed such because it combines multiple harvesting functions with a single harvesting unit, such as picking, threshing, separating and cleaning. A combine includes a header which removes the crop from a field, and a feeder housing which transports the crop matter into a threshing rotor. The threshing rotor rotates within a perforated housing, which may be in the form of adjustable concaves, and performs a threshing operation on the crop to remove the grain. Once the grain is threshed it falls through perforations in the concaves and is transported to a grain pan. From the grain pan the grain is cleaned using a cleaning system, and is then transported to a grain tank onboard the combine. The cleaning system includes a cleaning fan which blows air through oscillating sieves to discharge chaff and other debris toward the rear of the combine. Non-grain crop material such as straw from the threshing section proceeds through a straw chopper and out the rear of the combine. When the grain tank becomes full, the combine is positioned adjacent a vehicle into which the grain is to be unloaded, such as a semi-trailer, gravity box, straight truck, or the like; and an unloading system on the combine is actuated to transfer the grain into the vehicle.
Typically, the header includes one or more cutters, such as cutter bars, which cut the crop material growing in the field for collection. The cutter(s) often define the largest width of the combine, relative to forward motion, in order to cut as much crop material as possible in each pass of the combine in the field. As combines become larger to reduce the number of passes necessary to harvest an entire field, the headers have also increased dramatically in width. While this is beneficial while collecting crops in the field, the increased width of the header is problematic during transport of the combine.
As is known, combines generally travel at low speeds on unpaved terrain during crop harvesting. If a user wishes to transport the combine to a different location that is relatively far from the current location, the combine is typically towed or otherwise carried by a faster vehicle on regulated public roadways. Public roadway regulations limit the width of any vehicle traveling on the public roadway for the safety of all those on the roadway. As the header width is usually significantly greater than the allowed limit, the combine cannot be carried on public roadways without somehow reducing the width of the header.
What is needed in the art is a way to reduce the width of the header for transport.